First update in 2016

Update: We’ve identified a nasty bug in this release that causes the app to crash at first sign-in. To overcome this, just launch the app again and you should be signed-in. We already submitted the fix to the store so it should be available in a day or two.

Hi everybody, I have some exciting news. We have released the first update in 2016 and it is a big one. At a first glance it might seem that not much is changed, but a lot of code has been (re)written. As announced before, we stopped development for 8.1 platforms, which means that this update is only available for Windows 10. It also means that there are performance gains just because we were able to use the new features in UWP for the parts that were previously shared between W10 and 8.1 platforms. However, we also added a few new features. More info about these features is available below in this blog post.

Performance improvements

We have changed the way we store data locally. We moved from text base JSON to binary based Protocol Buffers, which means the data is now read about 50% faster, therefore the app will start much quicker, especially if you have a lot of shows and movies in your history or watchlist. We have also changed the way data is stored in memory when the app is running, which results in a faster sync. There were also some improvements on the UI and it should be smoother now. Overall memory consumption was optimized, which should be good for low end devices. So to sum it up in a non-technical way: performance should be improved a lot. There is however one drawback: because we changed the way we store data, everything will have to be synced again from trakt, on the first launch after upgrade.

Ratings

We’ve added the ability to rate shows, movies and episodes. You can rate items in lists and also on details page. There is not much more to add here.

Other visual changes

The progress indicator has been moved to the top, next to app name. That way we also eliminated the screen shifting that admittedly was very annoying.

The ability to use the app without being logged in with trakt account was removed in this release. According to the usage tracking, it was not used anyway. As a result we were able to simplify a lot of code. Another change is that when you launch the app a loading indicator is shown until all your local data is loaded, which provides a better user experience. Additionally, live tile should now display text on the bottom and not on the top as before, so it’s not displayed over characters you like to watch in your favorite show.

New translation system

We started using One Sky for translations management. Before, we were sending files around which was annoying and unproductive. Now, everyone can contribute, just head to: trakter.oneskyapp.com and start translating. If your language is not on the list, let us know on Twitter or here.

We already started working on another update which will bring the ability to view and post comments. What do you think of the new update? Let us know on Twitter or leave a reply bellow.

First, the in-app notification that led me here for the update notes was a great idea. Thank you.
The behind-the-scenes details are great. At some point I’d like to write an app that’s been in mind for years; in the meantime it’s great to hear what other developers are running into for common challenges and solutions.
An icon to add your blog to an RSS reader might be recommended. Feedly seemed to have no trouble adding via URL, but it could have been easier and might help even more with user engagement?
And I would also be curious what the challenges are to release this for other platforms? Would make for a great blog post or even just for the FAQ maybe.